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Plant Secondary Metabolism in Plant Foods
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Plant Secondary Metabolism in Plant Foods

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Physiology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 10400

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ana García-Villaraco

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad San Pablo-CEU Universities, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: Biostimulation, secondary metabolism, bioactives, adaptation, PGPR, plant fitness
Prof. Dr. Beatriz Ramos Solano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Facultad de Farmacia, Campus de Montepríncipe, Universidad San Pablo-CEU Universities, Ctra. Boadilla del Monte km 5,3, 28668 Madrid, Spain
Interests: PGPR; plant adaptive metabolism to biotic and abiotic stress; secondary metabolism with health and industrial interest
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The journal Plants will be publishing a Special Issue on: “Plant Secondary Metabolism in Plant Foods”.

Today, food is the most influential modifiable environmental factor in the health of people and populations. Food security, as defined by the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security, means that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life. In this way, we are heading towards the search for optimal nutrition, which consists of nutrition directed to the prevention and treatment of diseases, beyond the mere coverage of the needs of nutrients. The search for this optimal nutrition is based on the search for bioactive components of food, found in so-called functional foods. A functional food is the one that has been demonstrated to have a beneficial effect on one or more specific functions in the body, beyond the usual nutritional effects, with this being relevant for the improvement of health.

Bioactives are molecules produced by plants that are beneficial to our health. They are secondary metabolites involved in plant adaptation mechanisms to the different biotic and abiotic stresses that they have to face. Being an adaptive metabolism, it is inducible. In the same way, it is possible to trigger the metabolism of the desired bioactives by inoculation with different molecules or microorganisms.

Thus, considering the global situation, beyond the need to increase food production for a growing world population, we have the challenge of producing foods rich in bioactive molecules that help to prevent diseases and improve human health through diet. Concerning this matter, this Special Issue aims to compile research articles covering the improvement of food quality by enhancement or modifications in bioactive compounds profiles by any means—specifically, elicitation with beneficial bacteria.

Prof. Dr. Ana García-Villaraco
Prof. Dr. Beatriz Ramos Solano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bioactives
  • biostimulation
  • secondary metabolism
  • PGPR
  • abiotic stress
  • agronomic production
  • food security

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1748 KiB  
Article
Cross-Talk and Physiological Role of Jasmonic Acid, Ethylene, and Reactive Oxygen Species in Wound-Induced Phenolic Biosynthesis in Broccoli
by Ana Mariel Torres-Contreras, Vimal Nair, Carolina Senés-Guerrero, Adriana Pacheco, Mauricio González-Agüero, Perla A. Ramos-Parra, Luis Cisneros-Zevallos and Daniel A. Jacobo-Velázquez
Plants 2023, 12(7), 1434; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12071434 - 24 Mar 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1589
Abstract
Wounding induces phenolic biosynthesis in broccoli. However, there is scarce information about the physiological and molecular mechanisms governing this stress response. In the present study, a chemical-genetics approach was used to elucidate the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS), jasmonic acid (JA), and [...] Read more.
Wounding induces phenolic biosynthesis in broccoli. However, there is scarce information about the physiological and molecular mechanisms governing this stress response. In the present study, a chemical-genetics approach was used to elucidate the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS), jasmonic acid (JA), and ethylene (ET) as stress-signaling molecules in the wound-induced phenolic biosynthesis in broccoli. Wounding activated the biosynthesis of ET and JA. Likewise, the wound-induced biosynthesis of ET and JA was regulated by ROS. JA activated primary metabolism, whereas the three signaling molecules activated phenylpropanoid metabolism. The signaling molecules inhibited the wound-induced activation of the hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA quinate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (HQT) gene, which is involved in caffeoylquinic acids biosynthesis, and the main phenolics accumulated in wounded broccoli, suggesting that an alternative caffeoylquinic biosynthesis pathway is activated in the tissue due to wounding. ROS mediated the biosynthesis of most individual phenolic compounds evaluated. In conclusion, ROS, ET, and JA are essential in activating broccoli’s primary and secondary metabolism, resulting in phenolic accumulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Secondary Metabolism in Plant Foods)
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16 pages, 3260 KiB  
Article
Effect of Biotic Elicitors on the Growth, Antioxidant Activity and Metabolites Accumulation in In Vitro Propagated Shoots of Pueraria tuberosa
by Bhanupriya Kanthaliya, Abhishek Joshi, Jaya Arora, Mashael Daghash Alqahtani and Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah
Plants 2023, 12(6), 1300; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12061300 - 14 Mar 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3219
Abstract
Pueraria tuberosa contains a wide range of bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, alkaloids, and phytosterols, which make it valuable to the pharmaceutical and food industries. Elicitor compounds trigger the defense mechanisms in plants and are widely used to increase the yield of bioactive molecules [...] Read more.
Pueraria tuberosa contains a wide range of bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, alkaloids, and phytosterols, which make it valuable to the pharmaceutical and food industries. Elicitor compounds trigger the defense mechanisms in plants and are widely used to increase the yield of bioactive molecules in in vitro cultures. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different concentrations of biotic elicitors such as yeast extract (YE), pectin (PEC), and alginate (ALG) on growth, antioxidant activity, and metabolite accumulation in in vitro propagated shoots of P. tuberosa. The elicitors applied to shoot cultures of P. tuberosa significantly increased biomass (shoot number, fresh weight, and dry weight), and metabolites such as protein, carbohydrates, chlorophyll, total phenol (TP), and total flavonoid (TF) contents, as well as antioxidant activity compared to untreated control. Biomass, TP, and TF contents, as well as antioxidant activity, were most significant in cultures treated with 100 mg/L PEC. In contrast, chlorophyll, protein, and carbohydrate increased most in cultures treated with 200 mg/L ALG. Application of 100 mg/L of PEC led to the accumulation of high amounts of isoflavonoids including puerarin (220.69 μg/g), daidzin (2935.55 μg/g), genistin (5612 μg/g), daidzein (479.81 μg/g), and biochanin-A (111.511 μg/g) as analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Total isoflavonoids content of 100 mg/L PEC treated shoots was obtained as 9359.56 μg/g, 1.68-fold higher than in vitro propagated shoots without elicitors (5573.13 μg/g) and 2.77-fold higher than shoots of the mother plant (3380.17 μg/g). The elicitor concentrations were optimized as 200 mg/L YE, 100 mg/L PEC, and 200 mg/L ALG. Overall, this study showed that the application of different biotic elicitors resulted in better growth, antioxidant activity, and accumulation of metabolites in P. tuberosa, which could lead to obtaining phytopharmaceutical advantages in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Secondary Metabolism in Plant Foods)
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26 pages, 17363 KiB  
Article
Selenium, Sulfur, and Methyl Jasmonate Treatments Improve the Accumulation of Lutein and Glucosinolates in Kale Sprouts
by Erika Ortega-Hernández, Marilena Antunes-Ricardo, Luis Cisneros-Zevallos and Daniel A. Jacobo-Velázquez
Plants 2022, 11(9), 1271; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11091271 - 9 May 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2522
Abstract
Kale sprouts contain health-promoting compounds that could be increased by applying plant nutrients or exogenous phytohormones during pre-harvest. The effects of selenium (Se), sulfur (S), and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on lutein, glucosinolate, and phenolic accumulation were assessed in kale sprouts. Red Russian and [...] Read more.
Kale sprouts contain health-promoting compounds that could be increased by applying plant nutrients or exogenous phytohormones during pre-harvest. The effects of selenium (Se), sulfur (S), and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on lutein, glucosinolate, and phenolic accumulation were assessed in kale sprouts. Red Russian and Dwarf Green kale were chamber-grown using different treatment concentrations of Se (10, 20, 40 mg/L), S (30, 60, 120 mg/L), and MeJA (25, 50, 100 µM). Sprouts were harvested every 24 h for 7 days to identify and quantify phytochemicals. The highest lutein accumulation occurred 7 days after S 120 mg/L (178%) and Se 40 mg/L (199%) treatments in Red Russian and Dwarf Green kale sprouts, respectively. MeJA treatment decreased the level of most phenolic levels, except for kaempferol and quercetin, where increases were higher than 70% for both varieties when treated with MeJA 25 µM. The most effective treatment for glucosinolate accumulation was S 120 mg/L in the Red Russian kale variety at 7 days of germination, increasing glucoraphanin (262.4%), glucoerucin (510.8%), 4-methoxy-glucobrassicin (430.7%), and glucoiberin (1150%). Results show that kales treated with Se, S, and MeJA could be used as a functional food for fresh consumption or as raw materials for different industrial applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Secondary Metabolism in Plant Foods)
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Review

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14 pages, 1768 KiB  
Review
Secondary Metabolites and Their Role in Strawberry Defense
by Raghuram Badmi, Anupam Gogoi and Barbara Doyle Prestwich
Plants 2023, 12(18), 3240; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12183240 - 12 Sep 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2394
Abstract
Strawberry is a high-value commercial crop and a model for the economically important Rosaceae family. Strawberry is vulnerable to attack by many pathogens that can affect different parts of the plant, including the shoot, root, flowers, and berries. To restrict pathogen growth, strawberry [...] Read more.
Strawberry is a high-value commercial crop and a model for the economically important Rosaceae family. Strawberry is vulnerable to attack by many pathogens that can affect different parts of the plant, including the shoot, root, flowers, and berries. To restrict pathogen growth, strawberry produce a repertoire of secondary metabolites that have an important role in defense against diseases. Terpenes, allergen-like pathogenesis-related proteins, and flavonoids are three of the most important metabolites involved in strawberry defense. Genes involved in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites are induced upon pathogen attack in strawberry, suggesting their transcriptional activation leads to a higher accumulation of the final compounds. The production of secondary metabolites is also influenced by the beneficial microbes associated with the plant and its environmental factors. Given the importance of the secondary metabolite pathways in strawberry defense, we provide a comprehensive overview of their literature and their role in the defense responses of strawberry. We focus on terpenoids, allergens, and flavonoids, and discuss their involvement in the strawberry microbiome in the context of defense responses. We discuss how the biosynthetic genes of these metabolites could be potential targets for gene editing through CRISPR-Cas9 techniques for strawberry crop improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Secondary Metabolism in Plant Foods)
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